Wheelchair basketball faces expulsion from Tokyo Paralympics

Wheelchair basketball could be sensationally expelled from this year's Tokyo Paralympics in a predicament for the popular sport that Paralympics Australia describes as "extremely troubling".

The sport's governing body has been given a "shape up, or ship out" message from the International Paralympic Committee over issues with adherence to athlete-classification requirements.

Australian wheelchair basketball team the Rollers may not get the chance to go to Tokyo this year.Credit:Steve Christo

The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation has until May to get its house in order or wheelchair basketball, one of the foundation sports of the Paralympics, will be missing from the program and Australia won't be sending its men's and women's teams to Japan in August.

The IPC has taken drastic action against the IWBT – including already wiping the sport from the 2024 Paralympics in Paris – after it said the world governing body had "failed on numerous occasions" to improve compliance with athlete classification.

IPC president Andrew Parsons said wheelchair basketball had been on notice for several years and any issues with athlete classification – the way in which athletes with impairments are categorised to compete against each other across a range of sports – threatened the integrity of competition.

"We appreciate that wheelchair basketball is one of the most popular sports at the Paralympic Games, but this does not mean that the IWBF is above the rules," Parsons said.

“Athlete classification is integral to all Paralympic sport and the failure of any sport to comply with the IPC athlete-classification code is of critical concern to us because it could threaten the integrity of competition. Sadly, this is not a new issue and the IWBF has been on notice of this matter for several years and has been provided ample time and opportunity to address it."

Parsons said the situation was at "breaking point" and with seven months until the start of the Paralympics in August, "substantial work" was required to align current IWBF classification rules with the IPC's athlete classification code.

The IPC said the IWBF currently defines eligible impairments differently to how they are assessed by the global body.

Paralympics Australia is due to send its men's and women's teams – the Rollers and Gliders – to Japan and said the expulsion of wheelchair basketball would be a "shattering blow" for the Paralympic movement.

"It would devastate not just those directly involved with our teams, but the thousands of people involved in the sport nationally as well as fans of the Paralympic Games who will miss their chance to see elite athleticism on display in one of our most popular sports," said chief executive Lynne Anderson.

"Wheelchair basketball is a foundation Paralympic sport.

"The trajectory of wheelchair basketball is incredibly positive but it can only continue if the integrity of the sport is protected. Compliance with the IPC classification code is a must."

Australia has a strong history in wheelchair basketball, winning gold medals in Atlanta in 1996 and Beijing in 2008, as well as being a two-time silver medallist.

Among the members of Australia's gold-medal winning team in China 12 years ago was Dylan Alcott, who switched to wheelchair tennis and has won multiple gold medals and Australian Open wheelchair quad titles including this year's Australian Open final on Saturday.

While the IPC has already dropped the sport from the program in Paris in four years time, that decision could be reversed if the IWBF was fully compliant by the end of August next year.

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